New plan unveiled for CVS at Five Points
The developer of The Villages of Five Points appeared before county planners for the second time in two years in an effort to build a CVS pharmacy near the entrance to the community.
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Lewes library explores expansion
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Would the Lewes Public Library relocate to The Villages of Five Points? Planning and zoning commissioner Marty Ross raised that question as the planning and zoning commission reviewed the application to allow a CVS pharmacy in the community.
The library would be the preferred user of the parcel within The Villages of Five Points, said Olde Towne Point attorney John Sergovic. “We’ll try to make it an offer they can’t refuse,” he said. He said if the library accepts the donation, library officials would have 10 years for construction before the land would be deeded to the property owners association. “They could determine an alternative community use or use it as parkland. It can’t be used commercially or for business use,” Sergovic said. John Mateyko, a spokesman of the Managing Growth Around Lewes group, said after attending meetings associated with the library project, he’s convinced Lewes residents want the library to stay within city limits. “It speaks volumes that there are no letters from the library nor is anyone here from the library,” he said. “The likelihood that this location will be chosen by the Lewes library is nil. There is no community support for this. There is vast reluctance to lose the library [within city limits]. Mateyko said any discussions regarding the location of a new or expanded library are premature. In addition, he said, the site was not suitable for a library under the guidelines of the Delaware Council of Libraries. Those criteria include provisions that a library be visible, allow space for expansion and fit in with the surrounding environment. He said the proposed site does not meet any of those guidelines. When contacted after the meeting, Beckie Healey, president of the library’s board of commissioners, said the board is forming a site-evaluation committee of eight to 10 people from the library’s service area, which spans everything within a 6-mile radius of the current library. According to the library’s website, three possible locations are being considered: within Lewes limits; outside city limits but within the greater Lewes area; and beyond the greater Lewes area, perhaps across Route 1. |
The modified plan includes a donation of 2.5 acres of land to the Lewes Public Library. If the library does not accept the parcel, which would be subdivided from a 1.5-acre parcel for the proposed pharmacy, the land would be donated to the Villages of Five Points Property Owners Association, said Christian Hudson, representing the developer, Olde Towne Point LLC.
Commissioners recommended denial of a 2008 application for a zoning change from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to B-1, neighborhood business district. The application was withdrawn before county council could render a decision.
Olde Towne Point is now seeking a conditional use to construct a pharmacy and community-service facility on 4 acres off Savannah Road and North Village Main Boulevard within The Villages of Five Points in Lewes.
The developer is also seeking a zoning change to modify a condition imposed as part of the original approval for the project. The condition required the entire 4-acre parcel be set aside for a community-service facility. The developer now wants the condition to apply to only 2.5 acres so the pharmacy can be built on the remaining 1.5 acres.
Planning and zoning commissioners deferred on a decision at their Jan. 27 meeting.
Thirteen letters of support and four letters in opposition have been submitted, said Lawrence Lank, director of planning and zoning. In addition, a dozen people appeared in support during the Jan. 27 meeting; four appeared in opposition.
“They have made changes as a result of meetings and we believe this is a fantastic use of the property,” said John Gilbert, president of the property owners association. “We are optimistic the library will take us up on the offer.”
Attorney Shannon Carmean, representing the developer, said six community meetings were held to arrive at a revised plan.
Kevin McBride, another Villages of Five Points resident, said the developer has followed through on every commitment to residents. He said residents don’t want just anything adjacent to the CVS. “We want the library,” he said.
Resident Jennifer Short said she was initially opposed to the idea, but the developer has addressed residents’ concerns with the new application.
A letter of support from Villages of Five Points Ventures LLC, owners of the shopping center, was also placed in the public record.
Hudson said he and his father, Craig, who passed away last June, have worked for the past 10 years to find a nonprofit agency to purchase the 4-acre parcel at a reduced rate. He said now the company can realize enough profit from the sale of part of the parcel to allow for a donation of the rest of it. “This is the best possible plan based on feedback from the residents,” Hudson said.
D.J. Hughes, a traffic consultant with Davis, Bowen & Friedel, said the project would include improvements to the intersection on North Village Main Boulevard that is shared with Food Lion shopping center. CVS and Food Lion vetoed a proposed traffic circle, he said. Instead, better markings to draw attention to stop and yield areas and an enlarged island between the east and west lanes would be added.
Hudson said CVS has offered to contribute $20,000 a year to the property owners association to assist with maintenance issues.
Some residents oppose application
Even with the changes, not everyone is sold on the proposed project. Resident Don Lineback, who said he has lived in the community longer than anyone else, said the application defies the original design of the project to keep all retail to the north side of North Village Main Boulevard, the main route into the community.
Another resident, Joel Vanini, said all truck entrances were also designed to the north side, away from homes.
Lineback also questioned the need for another pharmacy in the area when there are already 10 pharmacies within a 2-mile radius of the proposed pharmacy including a new Walgreens to be opened across the street and Cape Pharmacy, in the Villages of Five Points shopping center.
He said the two large pharmacies would probably force the locally owned pharmacy out of business. Vanini said she was concerned about increased traffic in an already congested area.
A public hearing before county council is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 15.
